Rock On, Lobster (Babble)

I could probably just write a whole blog devoted to Mona’s paper creations.  There are too many to show on any given day to have room to write about anything else, but I need to share this lobster.

Yes, I’m an overly proud mom seeing what her kids do through some kind of mom-goggles, but is that not seriously a cool lobster?  That’s darned good for a seven year old.  I’m impressed she can construct a lobster on a whim with no help from anyone.  It’s made entirely out of red duct tape because she wanted it to be waterproof.  Plus she writes on it with regular markers which she can wipe off if she wants to later.

Of all three of my kids, Mona is the only one who I don’t think tests accurately.  Aden scores about where I would expect her to score on things like the ‘MAP’ and other standardized tests the school has the kids do.  She shows signs of being like I was in school, where tests reveal potential in all areas that doesn’t always get realized along the channels teachers are hoping for.  She’s smart, but only interested in doing what she wants to do.  Quinn is already reading and adding numbers in columns and he’s not even going to be in full day kindergarten until fall of 2012, so he will test fine when he gets there.  He’s smart in a way that will be easy for a test to measure because he has an excellent memory and an orderly mind.

Mona is brilliant in unconventional ways.  If there were a standardized test that asked children to build an entire zoo out of scraps of paper and some chewing gum she would leave her classmates and most of the school district in the dust.  On normal tests she scores very middle of the pack, even though hers are the kinds of skills that got the Apollo 13 astronauts home alive.  But schools don’t administer MacGyver exams.

I’m not worried about Mona, because I know whatever she chooses to tackle she will do well.  I wonder more about what kind of institutions and educational or work environments might miss out on seeing what she has to offer because the tools used to measure her abilities may not capture what she knows.  She is creative and funny and makes awesome pancakes.